Three reel, four-reel and five-reel slot machines are well known. In certain embodiments, the machines are electromechanical in nature using mechanical reels and a processor to control the selection of symbols and rotation of the reels. More recently, machines have used a video display which displays representations of reels and the indicia thereon.
In regards to the electro-mechanical machines, each reel has about its perimeter a strip bearing the symbols (including any blanks) for the reel. The reels are spun and stop each presenting indicia at one or more pay lines. As can be appreciated, the arrangement of the indicia on each reel strip is in a fixed, predetermined, order. Thus, for example, if a strip has at adjacent positions on the strip indicia of “7, Blank, Bar”, if the reel stops with the “Blank” at the pay line, the “7” will be displayed on the reel in a position above the “Blank” and the “Bar” displayed below the “Blank”.
Modernly it has become known to use a processor including means for randomly selecting an outcome, these means often referred to as a random number generator. As described in Telnaes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,419 issued May 15, 1984, multiple symbols/blanks are provided and stored in a data structure and, when a map address(es) is/are selected by the processor the processor controls the reels to stop and display the selected symbol(s) appearing on the reel strip. That is, while the reel strip may have only 6 blanks, the processor may “see” 20 blanks in the map of addresses. If one of the virtual 20 blanks is selected, it is mapped to a blank on the reel strip for display. The data at the selected address is used to control the reels to stop and display the map address dictated outcome. Since mechanical reels are used to display the outcome, the indicia for each reel are still arranged in a predetermined, fixed, order. However, since mapping is used as opposed to being constrained by the physical layout of the mechanical reels, probabilities for any outcome can be adjusted simply by adjusting the map. Further, in regards to the mapping approach, adjacent map addresses do not match the physical reel strips on the reels. That is, the map has a plurality of addresses, e.g. 64 addresses, each corresponding to a game symbol (or blank). When the processor picks an address, for example, address number 32 which is a “bar”, the processor controls the electromechanical device for reel 1 to find and stop at a “bar”. The symbols adjacent to the displayed “bar” on the physical reel are ignored by the map and processor. Thus the map does not correspond to the physical layout of the reels. Thus the statistical methodology for determining the probabilities of outcomes for the mechanical reels cannot be used to determine hit frequencies for the game.
It would be advantageous to have adjacent map addresses correspond to those on the physical reel strip. That is, if on the physical reel strip for a reel adjacent symbols are:                Blank        BAR        BAR—BARthe map has the following clustering of symbols at addresses:        
AddressSymbolN + 1BlankNBARN − 1BAR-BARThus the processor would select the cluster by randomly selecting N. The processor would take the data for N, N+1 and N−1 and control the reel to stop and display the appropriate, corresponding cluster on the reel strip. In this fashion the map would directly correspond to the physical reel strip. By repeating clusters in the map, 64 or any number of virtual stops can be arranged in the map to represent the clustering of symbols for 22 actual reel stops. In this fashion the symbol distribution on the reels and the maps would match and by selecting and duplicating clusters in the map, the calculation of hit frequencies for outcomes would correspond to the physical layout of the reels. Any objections or complaints that mapping does not correspond to the physical layout of the reels would be alleviated.
In regards to stepper games, each game has a predetermined hit frequency for each outcome including winning outcomes. A hit frequency is the statistical frequency, in a percentage, that each outcome will occur. These hit frequencies are calculated based upon the number of stops for the reel (or mapped stops) and the distribution of symbols. Knowing winning outcome symbol combinations, the number of stops and symbol distribution, the frequency each winning combination will statistically occur can be calculated. By assigning a pay to each winning combination the overall hold (wagers in-awards issued) can be determined. In regards to deriving a hold for a game, the general approaches are to provide infrequent winning combinations with higher pays or more frequent wins with lower pays. Since many players prefer games with higher pays, e.g. jackpots, they tend to play games which exhibit infrequent wins or “hits”. Infrequent wins induces frustration and the player will often abandoned the machine and not play it again.
It would be advantageous to provide a game and method where a base game is configured to have predetermined hit frequencies and where means are provided to, for at least for a number of games, multiply certain winning combinations to enhance the award and to use the base game and games with a multiplier to configure the overall hold of the game to the desired level.
Each reel stop position would serve a multiple purpose. It wold represent a symbol for the base game and would act, by itself or in combination with symbols on other reels to trigger a secondary game feature. This secondary feature could be a multiplier that would increase the awards for winning, base game, combinations for a predetermined number of future games.
It would alternatively be advantageous to provide, for a predetermined number of games, a modified pay table of winning combinations to increase, for those games, an enhanced hit frequency. For example, for a limited number of games, any symbol on a selected reel may be a winning combination and entitled to an award based upon a special pay table. By configuring the base game, triggers, winning pays, the limited feature can be used to configure the overall game to the desired hold. Further, providing a game where consecutive wins occur, would attract players to the game.
Video slot machines are also well known. In these machines, instead of using physical, mechanical reels, a video display is controlled to display simulated reels and outcomes. It would be advantageous to provide the features mentioned above to these types of games as well.
In regards to slot machines, it has been known to provide a default, virtual symbol inventory, e.g. map and a bonus symbol inventory. In Weiss, U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,538 there is described a game where a trigger invokes a second symbol distribution or map making certain outcomes, statistically, more probable than in the default inventory. Thus, this game uses the same pay or award schedule but makes, during a bonus phase, one or more outcomes more likely than with the default pay table. This it does by adding symbols, changing the distribution of symbols in the map inventory.
A drawback of this approach is that the game merely increases the player's chances for obtaining a winning outcome. The player, during the Weiss incentive or bonus mode, may still not obtain a winning outcome while the mode is invoked.
There is a need for slot machines to provide a different approach to mapping to provide a game where the map matches the symbol distribution and, for mechanical reels, the physical reel layout. There is also a need for game which provides for a hot streak phase where losing symbols or symbol combinations are winning combinations to provide more and consecutive winning outcomes, or a winning outcome for each of a predetermined number of succeeding games and/or where, for a predetermined number of games, awards are multiplied.
Another type of slot machine which is popular is video Poker. In video Poker, a data structure is provided which stored data representing each card of a deck of fifty-two cards (fifty-three cards if the game includes a Joker). When a wager is made and play prompted, five cards are selected and displayed at a video display. The player holds none, some or all of the cards. The cards which are not held are replaced with cards selected from the data structure to produce a five card, final hand. The final hand is compared to a schedule of winning hands, typically based upon the rankings of Poker hands, and if a winning hand has been obtained the player is paid according to the schedule.
For Video Poker, it is known to provide progressively increasing pay outs for certain winning card combinations based upon contributions from Video Poker machines, i.e. progressive jackpots. It is also known to provide, based upon a triggering outcome, to re-configure the pay table such as providing an enhanced pay for a certain outcome such as flushes. However, I am not aware of any such game where losing outcomes, over a number of games, are re-designated as winning outcomes or where, for a period of games, enhanced pays are provided for all winning outcomes. Further, in regards to Video Poker, it would be advantageous to provide a hot streak phase where additional cards are added to the data structure, e.g. adding to a standard deck an additional Ace —10 for each suit (20 cards), a virtual deck of 72 cards thus making certain combinations such as a Royal Flush more likely or for example, maintain the pay schedule, maintain the 52 or 53 card deck, and add additional features for a limited time. The Deuces can be wild, thus increasing the likelihood of winning combinations for the specific pay schedule.
For both Slot machines and Video Poker machines there is a need for a device and method whereby the pay (or conversely hold) of the machine can be altered to any desired level by including and configuring a hot streak phase. Further in this regard there is a need for providing a game where, during a hot streak phase, the player will have more winning outcomes and pays and where the phase is displayed to entice the player to continue play as well as entice other players to play the game.
Another game that could be greatly enhanced by this method would be an eight line, nine reel video slot machine. While there are already machines of this type in operation, they all suffer from using the same reel mapping for all nine reels. By utilizing a method of having three separate reel maps and utilizing them in a manner that makes seven of the eight lines consist of one each of reel numbers 1, 2, and 3, it becomes possible to provide a reel strip that consists of a symbol at each and every reel position with no blanks on the strip. Current 8 line machines have many blanks on the reels, giving the player the impression that there are more ways to lose than with a full reel strip. The 8th line would be made up of 3 copies of reel 3.
Not only would this type of game be more inviting to the player, but the methods of mapping reel positions for more than one purpose as described above would allow the machine to offer the same kind of “guaranteed winners” and “multiplier” features as well.
Other features that could be added to a nine reel game are the ability to pay off winners for hitting a particular number of identical symbols on a game without regard to whether they occupied the same line, or not. Thus six of a symbol being displayed in the game matrix at the same time could be made into a separate pay. With the possibility of winning in more than one manner, the game would become more attractive to the player.
Another feature that could be used on a nine reel game would be to offer a special reward for hitting some particular pattern of like symbols in the game matrix (such as the four corner reels or the four side reels having matching symbols, or in the form of an X or a cross “T” or “L” pattern). This reward could be in the form of an additional pay, or a re-spin of the center reel for a chance at another winner, or some other reward that the player would perceive as advantageous.